Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made apology on Monday to thousands of Australians who suffered in state and church care, saying the nation looked back in shame.
The prime minister said sorry for the abuses children suffered up until the late 1970s.
Rudd told those gathered that Australia was "sorry for the physical suffering, emotional starvation and the cold absence of love, of tenderness, of care".
"As a nation we must now reflect on those who did not receive proper care. We look back with shame that so many of you were left cold, hungry and alone and with nowhere to hide and nobody, absolutely nobody, to whom to turn," Rudd said.
"Robbed of your families, robbed of your homeland, regarded not as innocent children, but regarded instead as a source of child labor," said the prime minister.
He told the audience further that "To those of you who were told you were orphans, brought here without your parents' knowledge or consent, we acknowledge the lies you were told, the lies told to your mothers, fathers and the pain these lies have caused for a lifetime."
The audience included former child migrants separated from their families in Britain and shipped to Australia, as well as others placed with foster parents or in orphanages run by the states and churches.
Many suffered ill-treatment and some sexual abuse. They have been dubbed the "forgotten Australians".